Atlanta United has signed 18-year-old defender George Campbell to a Homegrown contract, the club announced Tuesday.
Campbell has been on an academy contract with Atlanta since the 2016-17 season. His new deal is effective as of Jan. 1, 2020. Campbell is the sixth academy player to sign a professional Homegrown contract with the club, following George Bello, Andrew Carleton, Chris Goslin, Lagos Kunga and Patrick Okonkwo.
“George has shown remarkable progress at each step in his development and he’s earned a professional contract with our club,” Atlanta vice president and technical director Carlos Bocanegra said in a press release. “As a member of our inaugural academy teams in 2016, he’s worked hard to utilize the club’s pathway to the professional level, highlighted by his form in USL this season — most of which came before his 18th birthday.”
Campbell turned 18 on June 22. He has played in 11 USL Championship games with Atlanta United 2 this season, starting 10. Campbell ranks second on the team with 74 duels won and 20 interceptions.
“He’s just starting to scratch the surface of what he can be in the future,” Bocanegra said. “And that’s a testament to his commitment to improve, as well as the program that we have in place through [academy director] Tony Annan and [Atlanta United 2 head coach] Stephen Glass.”